Category Archives: Main Dishes

Coconut Shrimp with Mango Basil Salsa & Lime Jasmine Rice

Burst of majah flavah!

This is one of all-time favorite recipes— I’ve made this for crowds of 25+ and for intimate dinner parties. It’s got that sweet heat combo with a a cool mango basil salsa that really adds a pop of fresh (and delish!)

Making the rice with coconut milk and lime also gives it a really authentic Thai flavor….Enjoy!

Coconut Shrimp with Mango Basil Salsa & Lime Jasmine Rice

Ingredients

Salsa

1 mango, peeled and finely diced
3 scallions, sliced
5 basil leaves, julienned
1 lime, juiced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Shrimp

4 fresh jalapenos, diced (keep the seeds for extra spicy heat!)
5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 one inch piece ginger, peeled and grated (or 2 TB of tube ginger)
4 Tb dark brown sugar
4 Tb soy sauce or gluten-free tamari
2 Tb Thai Chili sauce
1 lime, zested
1 can of coconut milk
Handful basil leaves, torn
2 Tb vegetable or canola oil
1 tsp salt
1 Tb pepper
1 pound peeled, deveined shrimp (medium to large-- not the little guys!)

Lime Jasmine Rice

1 cup jasmine rice
3/4 cup coconut milk
3/4 cup water
Pinch salt
1/2 lime, zested

Instructions

For the salsa

Combine all ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Make up to a day in advance. Keep covered in the refrigerator.

For the shrimp

In a mixing bowl, combine jalapenos, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, soy sauce, Thai chili sauce, lime zest, coconut milk, basil, vegetable oil, salt and pepper. Add the shrimp and marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours, refrigerated.
Heat 2 Tb vegetable or canola oil in a nonstick skillet over high heat. Use tongs or a fork to remove the shrimp from the marinade and place in an even layer in the pan, reserving the marinade.
Cook the shrimp until well browned on each side, turning once, about 2 minutes per side max. Transfer cooked shrimp to a serving plate.
Add reserved marinade to pan, bring to a boil and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
Pour over the cooked shrimp and serve with Lime Jasmine Rice and Mango Salsa.

For the rice

Put the rice, coconut milk, water, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cover and gently simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 12 to 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and stir in the lime zest. Serve immediately.

https://whatsonparkersplate.flywheelsites.com/2013/12/coconut-shrimp-with-mango-basil-salsa-lime-jasmine-rice/

Killer Chili Garlic Crab Cakes

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Star of the meal!

This is a great meal for entertaining! I’ve cooked this for anniversary dinners for personal chef clients and for my family’s Christmas dinner one year. It’s always a hit.

Hint: Remember to sort through the crab meat to make sure there aren’t any shells mixed in and use paper towels to remove any excess moisture from the crab meat. Watery crab will not hold together well or brown evenly.

Killer Chili Garlic Crab Cakes

Ingredients

1 cup mayonnaise (not low-fat)
1 fresh garlic clove diced
4 tsp chili-garlic sauce
1 Tb Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
3 Tb olive oil
2 Tb butter
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup celery
1/2 cup sweet onion
2 Tb jalapeño
1 pound crabmeat, drained and coursely chopped
1 large egg, beaten to blend
5 cups breadcrumbs (you can sub gluten-free bread)

Instructions

Mix mayonnaise, diced garlic clove, chili-garlic sauce, Worcestershire sauce, honey, salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice in small bowl. Cover and refrigerate chili mayonnaise.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 Tb butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper, celery, onion, and jalapeño; sauté 3 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Mix in crab, egg, 1/2 cup chili mayonnaise, and remaining 2 teaspoons lemon juice, then 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs.
Form crab mixture into eight 1/2-inch-thick cakes, using 1/2 cup for each. Dredge cakes in remaining 3 1/2 cups breadcrumbs, turning to coat. Place on baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours.
Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil and 1 Tb butter in large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, add crab cakes and cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side.
Transfer to plates. Serve, passing remaining chili mayonnaise separately.

https://whatsonparkersplate.flywheelsites.com/2013/12/killer-chili-garlic-crabcakes/

Meaty Monday: Smack Yo Mama (it’s so good) Jambalaya

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A stick to yer ribs kinda meal

This is probably, hands down, JP’s favorite meal. Inevitably, our kitchen is filled with exclamations that go something like this: “OHMYGODPARKERYOUARESOFREAKINGAMAZINGILOVEYOUANDTHISJAMBALAYASOMUCH!!”

Classic jambalaya usually has chicken, but I normally just add shrimp and spicy andouille sausage. My go-to brand is Ragin’ Cajun.

My fave brand of sausage for jambalaya

I make my jambalaya in piece-meal and then combine it all— making the rice, sautéing the veggies, then the sausage, then doing the shrimp last so they don’t get tough. The best part is that it tastes even better the next day– (if it lasts that long!) I serve it with jalapeño cornbread . Prepare to smack yo mama after the first bite…..it’s that damn good!

Ingredients

1 box of Zatarain’s Jambalaya Rice Mix

2 bay leaves

1 onion diced

3 garlic cloves diced

1 green or red bell pepper diced

3 celery stalks diced

1 jalapeño diced

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with chilies (like Rotel) undrained

1 Tb tomato paste

1 Tb srirachi or hot sauce

1 Tb worcestershire

1/4 cup white wine

1 Tb Grade B maple syrup

2 Tb butter

2 Tb olive oil

3 Tb fresh thyme leaves

1 package of andouille sausage

1 pound of shrimp (peeled and deveined) tossed with 2 Tb of spice mix (recipe below)

Spice Mix

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp thyme leaves

2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Directions: Make Zatarain’s mix according to package directions with the addition of the bay leaves and set aside.

Veggies: Saute vegetables (onion, peppers, garlic, jalapeño, celery) in 1 Tb olive oil on medium heat until soft, about 10 minutes. Add to rice. (I usually put rice in a large saucepan after it’s cooked to make room for the other ingredients). Then, add in worcestershire, tomatoes, tomato paste, white wine, hot sauce and fresh thyme. Let simmer uncovered on low heat until you add the sausage/shrimp and are ready to serve. Stir occasionally.

Sausage: Slice sausage to desired thickness (I do about 1/4 inch) and saute in 1 Tb butter and 1 Tb olive oil on medium heat until cooked through– about 10 minutes. Then add the Grade B Maple syrup to coat. Grade B is the thicker more organic variety than your regular Aunt Jemima. It has a stronger maple taste– combined with the sausage, it’s got a touch of sweet and a whole lotta spicy, smoky and delish.

Shrimp: Toss shrimp (after they’re peeled and deveined) in 2 Tb of the spice mix. Heat up 1 Tb butter and 1 Tb olive oil in a frying pan on med/high heat and let the butter get bubbly. If you add a shrimp to the pan and you don’t hear a *sizzle*– it’s not ready. Wait another minute or so. Don’t crowd the shrimp in the pan– you’ll need to do atleast 2 batches if you’re cooking a whole pound. Add a little more butter and olive oil between batches.

Saute shrimp for 3 minutes on one side and flip– then 2 minutes on the other side. Put your timer on so they don’t go too long and get overdone!

Fold in the sausage and the shrimp to the rice and serve hot with cornbread. Prepare for a par-tay on your palate that Mama would be proud of.

Baked Cod in Parchment with Mediterranean Tapenade

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Substitute in any white fish you like…

Earlier this summer, I had the chance to cook with one of the most inspiring women I know….Deb Shigley is a published author (check out her book The Go-Getter Girl’s Guide) a regular on the Today Show, incredible wife and Mom to 3 (yes, 3 kiddos!) and host of her own cooking blog In Deb’s Kitchen. Together, we whipped up one of my favorite fish recipes, Baked Cod in Parchment paper with a Mediterranean Tapenade. Fish en papillote, if ya wanna get fancy. Watch the video to see the intricacies of wrapping fish, folks….

Ingredients

For each 4-oz cod fillet you’ll need:

A pat of butter

Sprig of Fresh Thyme

Slice of lemon

Splash of white wine

Sea Salt

Black Pepper

Parchment Paper

1 Egg, beaten (to seal parchment paper)

For the tapenade:

2 fresh garlic cloves
1 roasted red pepper (jarred)
2 Tablespoons chopped sundried tomatoes in oil

Handful of green olives
handful of kalamata olives
1 Tablespoon capers

Crumbled goat or feta cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place your piece of parchment paper (about 9 X 12 in.) on the counter or cutting board. Arrange one cod fillet in the top center of the paper. Add a pat of butter, sprig of thyme, splash of white wine and lemon slice on top of the fish and season with sea salt and pepper. Using a pastry brush, paint a line of egg wash around the perimeter of the paper, about 1/2-inch from the edge. Fold paper in half to seal in the fish like an envelope. Starting from the bottom left corner, fold and roll the paper over itself in 1/4 inch sections, continuing along the edge toward the bottom right corner until you’ve sealed the fish in its little parchment paper pocket. Transfer each parchment packet to a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

For the tapenade, place all ingredients except the goat cheese into a mini-processor. Pulse about 15-30 seconds, until blended but still very chunky (if you pulse too long the tapenade will get soupy). Transfer tapenade mixture to another bowl and top with a handful of crumbled goat cheese. Remove fish from its parchment packet when ready and plate. Spoon a few tablespoons of tapenade on top of baked fillet.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chipotle Chili

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It’s an award winner, y’all!

I always come back to this chili recipe…not just because it’s won two awards, (let me just brag for a minute!) but because it’s That. Damn. Good. This week, I sent the recipe to a girlfriend of mine who made it for a potluck party. She promptly declared– and I do quote: “Oh dear God, Parker. I’m not kidding. That’s the best chili I’ve ever tasted! And I live in Texas. I’m giddy with excitement to take it tomorrow!”

I never get tired of hearing ~~applause~~ compliments for my recipes— mostly just because it makes my heart happy to share food, and for me, it’s sharing pure L.O.V.E.

The show-stopper ingredients in this chili are the hint of chocolate (1 Tb cocoa) and the chipotle peppers. Once you brown all the ingredients and combine, you can let it simmer on the stove or in a crockpot on low for about 3 hours, but don’t keep it going in the crockpot all night or it will dry it out. Just put it in the fridge and thin it out in the morning with a bit of beef stock.

Just let it simmer in the crockpot for 3 hours on low, but not overnight.

Ingredients

Lots of ingredients, but so worth the effort!

2 pounds ground beef (sometimes the butcher will label it “chili mix”– the beef is thicker than regular hamburger meat)

1 pound spicy sausage (I use Jimmy Dean HOT sausage)

3 Tablespoons butter

2 medium or 1 large yellow/white onion diced

4-5 garlic cloves diced

2 jalapeno peppers diced (not seeds)

2 cans Rotel tomatoes (original)

1 (6 oz) can of tomato paste

1 can of red beans with juice (Kidney)

1/4 cup honey

4 Tablespoons BBQ sauce

1 Tablespoon Tabasco sauce

4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (diced with seeds), plus 4 Tablespoons of sauce

1 12 oz bottle amber beer

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 Tablespoon Cocoa

2 cups of beef stock (I prefer using “Better Than Bouillon” paste. You boil 2 cups of water and add 2 Tablespoons of the paste and mix.)

2 Tablespoons Cumin

4 Tablespoons Chili powder

1 Tablespoon Garlic powder

1 Tablespoon Onion powder

2 Tablespoons Paprika (Hungarian/spicy is best)

2 Tablespoons Brown sugar

1 Tablespoon Cayenne pepper

1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt

2 Tablespoons Black pepper

4 ears corn on cob, cut off cob

Bunch of Scallions chopped to garnish

Shredded cheese to top

Directions: In a large saucepan, brown chili meat and sausage. Do not drain. In a separate frying pan, melt butter and saute onion, garlic, jalapeno and corn until soft, 5-7 minutes. Add to beef saucepan and stir to combine. Add all the spices to the beef mixture and saute over medium heat until combined…Pour in everything else and simmer for 2-3 hours! Top with chopped scallions and shredded cheese!

Love Jambalaya and Chili? Try my Chili-laya recipe too!

Ready to dive in…

Turkey Cranberry Salad…Leftover Turkey Heaven

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Leftovers won’t last long with this delish salad!

Who wants cold turkey sandwiches for 11 days after Thanksgiving? Not this girl. Your turkey just went to leftover heaven with this fabulous turkey cranberry salad. The secret ingredient is the heavy whipping cream folded in– it takes away that mayonnaisey taste that sometimes overwhelms chicken salad. The result is a salad that is creamy and decadent (and low-carb!) Sounds like the kind of legacy every turkey would want to leave behind, right?

Ingredients

4 cups of fresh roasted turkey chopped

½ cup of full-fat mayonnaise

3 Tb fresh parsley

3 Tb celery diced

3 Tb onion diced

3 Tb fresh cranberry sauce

3 Tb fresh toasted almonds

½ cup heavy whipping cream whipped into soft peaks

1 tsp kosher salt, more to taste

Directions: Mix everything together– fold in heavy whipping cream last. Enjoy!

Meaty Monday: Chipotle Turkey Roll with Guaco-Cream

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Trifecta of Delish: Cheesy, Spicy, Crunchy!

Phyllo dough is the NeNe of Culinary Housewives– super high maintenance, super rich, but oh-so-worth the drama.

Making the filling for this is easy, so get that over first, so you can concentrate on the dough!

$$$ NeNe would agree. $$$

Filling:

1.3 pound package of ground turkey

Spice Mixture (recipe below)

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 block (4 oz) of full-fat cream cheese

3 Tb adobo sauce (from a can of chipotles)

1/4 cup (handful) of chopped fresh cilantro

Spice Mixture:

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions: Brown turkey meat (do not drain) and add spice mixture with the chicken stock. Simmer for 10 minutes on low to combine and reduce broth. Add cream cheese, adobo sauce and cilantro, stir until cream cheese melts and combines with turkey mixture.

NOW PAY ATTENTION, LOVELIES. Here’s the phyllo fun….

Phyllo– (pronounced FEE-lo, by the way, which I botched for years…I thought it was FIE-lo) is paper thin sheets of unleavened dough. You get it in the freezer section near the frozen pies/pastries at the grocery store. Let the package defrost for an hour or two before you attempt to use it.

You’re going to need 10 single phyllo sheets and a stick of butter melted. Yes, a whole stick. It’s worth it, I promise.

It’s easiest to use a large baking sheet with tin foil that is sprayed with some cooking spray. Then lay out your first sheet of Phyllo. Using a spoon, or a basting brush, drizzle some butter on the phyllo sheet. It doesn’t have to be even, just get it around all four corners and some in the middle.

Spread some butter over the first sheet of phyllo– a basting brush makes it easy

Then, add a second sheet, brush on more butter. Add a third sheet, brush on more butter. Add a fourth sheet, and so on and so on, till you get ten, (yes, 10!) sheets of buttered phyllo piled on top of one another. It’s OK if the sheets rip a little, they’re all going to be baked in a layer so no one will notice if there’s a tear.

Layer 10 sheets of buttered phyllo dough

Next, take that creamy, chipotle turkey mixture and spoon it out lengthwise, close to the edge of phyllo so you can start to roll it up.

Spoon out turkey mixture onto phyllo off center, closer to the edge

Then, start to roll up the phyllo dough burrito style…be gentle, cuz it’s a delicate process!

Gently, now…start to roll the phyllo

End with seam side down and brush with a little more butter on top of the roll.

Now you’re turkey roll is ready to bake, baby!

Once you have your turkey roll buttered (again)! Bake at 350 for 20 minutes until browned.

I serve it with some guaco-cream on the side. The fresh garlic gives it a real kick and is the perfect companion to the turkey roll. Here’s that recipe:

Guaco-Cream

Mix in food processor:

1 avocado

2 garlic cloves

1/2 lime

pinch of kosher salt

1 tsp honey

Scrumptious on a plate

Meaty Monday: Crockpot Orange Star Chicken

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You’ll be the STAR of your dinner party with Orange Star Chicken!

‘Tis the season for entertaining…..how about a one pot meal that will wow your friends and family with zero high maintenance prep work? Meet Orange Star Chicken. You’ll be the star of your party…and get to spend your evening sipping on a holiday cocktail instead of stressing in the kitchen! This is fabulous served with rice noodles…

Ingredients

1 package chicken drumsticks, skin removed

1 box of low sodium chicken stock

¾ cup soy sauce

½ cup brown sugar (low carbers, sub out for 1/4 cup truvia)

4-5 pieces of orange peel

4 spring onions chopped

2 Tb garlic chopped

1 Tb whole black peppercorns

5 star anise pieces

3 Tb fresh ginger

1 jalapeno chopped

Juice of one orange

2 Tb dry sherry

Chopped cilantro for garnish

Directions: Mix and cook on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 3-4 hours

Serve over rice or rice noodles (Pad Thai noodles work great!)

White Girl Can Cook Wings

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Wings and Rings…

Back in 2008, I was cooking for a friend of mine for the first time. She and her now hubs, had just introduced me to JP, and I was making the meal so we could dish about my new man. (Talk about blind date success!) Little did I know, before dinner was served, she’d had a quick convo about whether she’d need a real dinner after my meal…It went something like this:

“White girl cooking chicken wings? You better have something ready when I get home.”

There apparently was some doubt that this black soul food queen trapped in the body of a white girl could throw down in the kitchen…Let’s just say, not only was she pleasantly surprised, but since then, I have catered her wedding shower, her rehearsal dinner and her baby shower….AND, I have officially been dubbed by her friends and family, “White Girl Can Cook Productions.”

It’s a title I wear proudly!

Oh, and those delish looking onion rings shown in the pic? Here’s THAT recipe.

Ingredients:
2 shallots
4 garlic cloves
2 Tb butter
1 chopped jalapeño
1 1/2 cups BBQ Sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray’s)
1 cup Buffalo Wing Sauce (I use Frank’s Red Hot Wings)
1/2 cup chili garlic sauce (I use Sriracha Hot Garlic Chili Sauce, aka “Rooster” sauce)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 Jack Daniel’s Bourbon
1 family pack of chicken wings
flour for dredging

Wings: Preheat oven to 425. Dredge chicken wings in flour and place on a well greased pan. Bake for 30 minutes and flip over. Continue baking for 20-25 more minutes until crispy.

Sauce: Saute shallots (substitute a medium onion if you need to) and garlic cloves in 2 TB butter on medium heat until soft but not browned, about a minute. Add chopped jalapenos and saute for another minute. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until well combined. Let simmer on stove top on low heat until wings are done. Dip wings in sauce after they come out of the oven and serve immediately with additional BBQ sauce on the side.

**Mix some fresh crumbled blue cheese with full-fat sour cream, a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt and dip wings if you’d like…

Easy to make and your friends will be blown away by the delish factor! (Especially if you’re a white girl!)

Chili-laya

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Turn up the heat, baby!

This Culinary goddess has won a major award for her chili recipe. (I can’t help but think of one of my favorite scenes from A Christmas Story: “It’s a Major Award! I won!”

2 awards in fact! Let me brag on meeeeeeeee for a minute: I placed in the Roswell Chili Cook Off last spring and also won a Ford Owners competition a few months before that and took home, yes, A Major Award!

It’s a MAJOR AWARD!

It’s tough to mess with perfection, but the weekend was winding down and JP and I started talking about coming up with a new chili recipe. The weather is getting cooler and there’s nothing better than a pot of chili simmering on the stove on a Sunday afternoon. He had a brilliant suggestion: Chili Meets Jambalaya.

It’s Chili-laya, y’all!

Ingredients:

1 pound ground chuck

1 pound ground sirloin

1 pound spicy ground sausage (like Jimmy Dean)

1 package of spicy smoke adouille sausage (I like Ragin’ Cajun brand) sliced

1 Tb Grade B Maple Syrup

1 Tb butter

1 Tb olive oil

1 can tomato sauce (15oz)

1 can drained kidney beans

1 can diced tomatoes

2 Tb brown sugar

1 Tb honey

2 cups Guinness beer

2 cups beef stock

2 jalapeños diced

1 poblano pepper diced

1 red bell pepper diced

1 habanero pepper diced (optional)

1 sweet onion chopped

2 garlic cloves chopped

2 celery ribs chopped

3 Tb chili powder

1 Tb coriander

1 Tb paprika

1 Tb onion powder

1 Tb garlic powder

1 Tb black pepper

1 Tb basil

1 tsp kosher salt

2 Tb fresh thyme

Chopped cilantro for garnish

Smoked Gouda (this cheese is the shiznittabam) shredded for garnish

Sliced avocado for garnish

Directions:

In a large, wide rimmed frying pan, saute ground chuck, ground sirloin and spicy ground sausage on medium heat until browned. Do not drain. Put meat in a large soup pot and set aside. In the same frying pan, toss in 1 Tb butter and when butter gets bubbly, add the chopped andouille sausage and cook through. When andouille is browned, add 1 Tb Grade B maple syrup and stir to coat. Keep the heat on medium and let the syrup get caramelized on the sausage– try not to eat it all before you’re finished. It’s soooooo good. Add maple encrusted andouille to the rest of the meat.

Now, time to saute your veggies. I use the same pan, just add about 1 Tb olive oil and saute onion, garlic, celery, and all of the peppers. Be very careful when you’re chopping up the habanero and the jalapeños — get that hot stuff under your nails or in your eyeball and it’s not fun. I sometimes put on kitchen gloves– or just toss them in the food processor and pulse for a few seconds. Then scoop them into the mix. No need to brown the veggies– just soften them in the pan on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add veggie mix to your pile ‘o meat.

Next, add in all the canned yummies. The tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, the beans, the beer and the stock, sugar, honey, and all those spices. Mix it all together and keep on a low simmer for 1-2 hours (if you can wait that long!)

Spoon it out and top with chopped cilantro, smoked gouda and sliced avocado. Serve with Jalapeño Cornbread for maximum Chili-laya satisfaction.